5 predictions for the future of social media: Cheil digital chief Peter Kim

“We’ve turned on to social media, tuned in and now it’s time to cash out,” this was one prediction made by Cheil Worldwide’s chief digital officer Peter Kim on how social media will evolve over the next ten years.

Addressing the audience at Cannes Lions Festival today (21 June) Kim warned that due to changing trends in society, the economy and technology the traditional models of social media have been rendered ineffective, and brands and agencies must now take note of the shifting sands of social.

Here are five predictions Kim made for the evolution of social media by 2025.

1. Social media will disappear…

Social media as we know will no longer exist, according to Kim who urged marketers and brands to think about consumer trends and behaviours and introduce new tactics and strategy into brand campaigns. “As an agency the way you make money from social media is going to disappear I guarantee it,” he said.

2. Social media will be shoppable…

Luxury brands such as Burberry have already blazed a trail in making their fashion shows shoppable, but Kim predicted that everyday brands will also jump on the trend, forming collaborations with other brands to drive an new channel of e-commerce.

3. Social media will be Chinese…

“The two reasons it hasn’t happened yet are language and local growth,” said Kim, who then pointed to the fact that China is now above the US in terms of global GDP contribution; a progression that he said points to the east exploding on social. In addition the rise of tech companies and e-commerce sites such as Alibaba, which now has the biggest e-commerce day (Singles day) in the world, bringing in double the amount of money of all US e-commerce sites on Cyber Monday, will add to the shift. “You don’t have to learn how to speak Chinese but think about what happens when these companies come into your market,” added Kim.

4. Social media will be under your skin…

While the buzz around the Internet of Things (IoT) has dominated the marketing world for last six months, what people now want is “addressability” according to Kim, referring to the ability of a digital device to individually respond to a message sent to many similar devices. This will come in the form of subcutaneous chips, implanted under the skin. “It may be dramatic today,” admitted Kim, “But for those of you who own pets we are already do it…It’s a matter of time.”

5. Social media will be automated…

Organic social media will move to programmatic by 2025, as consumers continue to express exasperation with cluttered messages, interruption and irrelevance. “When you think about programmatic and what it can do it, and does do, it has the ability to let publishers de-clutter sites and get advertising more relevant and be native in a way consumers will accept," concluded Kim.